Before they opened Blue Ridge in 2009, Hengst and co-owner Jared Rager sold Mendocino Grille to a staffer there. But Hengst and Rager continued to guarantee the lease on the Georgetown building. So when the new Mendocino owner ran afoul of tax authorities and closed earlier this year, Hengst and Rager got reinvolved.

Time and money that would have been spent on the renovation of the shuttered Blue Ridge—originally expected to reopen this month—have been diverted to the Georgetown restaurant, Hengst says: “Most of the financial resources that we had set aside for the renovations at Blue Ridge have been consumed by our repossession of the [Mendocino] space from the prior owner.” No new date has been set for Blue Ridge’s reopening.